Learning how to dehydrate cherries was essential the first year I had a large enough harvest off my pie cherry tree to do more than just snack on them.

I did not have enough of a harvest to can them, but I did get to make two cherry pies, about a quarter gallon of five spice cherries and a batch of Five Spice Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream.

After making the ice cream, I had a few five spice cherries left. There was not enough to can them, but I hated to see them go to waste.

I looked up recipes that used cherries and decided to make cherry muffins – the problem was it is better to use dried cherries in muffin recipes instead of fresh because of the moisture content difference.

Now you may be thinking I could use less liquid in the recipe and that would make a difference, but you see, if I were to miscalculate I would end up with a ruint batch of muffins. That is why I decided to dehydrate them not to mention if I ended up with more dehydrated cherries than I needed I could store them for use later on.

Methods For Dehydrating Cherries

Dehydrating cherries is really easy – especially if you have a good dehydrator – and if you don’t try using the oven on the lowest setting you have or – better yet – lay them out on a clean window screen or drying rack in the sun.

You will want to cover them with screen or similar material to keep bugs off while they are drying.

It is best to lay the cherries so they are spread open because – depending on the method you use – they can take a little time to get leathery enough to safely store.

If you are using a dehydrator with a thermometer, here is how you do it.

There are also links to products I recommend from companies I have a referral relationship with. I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

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Renaissance Homesteader and Proclaimed Plant Geek, Sheri Ann Richerson can tell you everything there is to know about organic gardening, being self-sufficient and raising tropical plants from seed in a temperate environment. Learn more -